Israel is committed to upholding the status quo on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, President Isaac Herzog assured U.S. Ambassador Jack Lew on Sunday after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued a call for the construction of a synagogue at Judaism’s holiest site.
Herzog stressed his “unequivocal commitment to preserving the status quo at the holy site—in accordance with political agreements laid down since 1967 [with Jordan], and in the spirit of the rulings by leading rabbis and religious figures over the last 100 years,” an official told reporters.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli lawmaker Yitzhak Kroizer, a member of Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party, ascended the Temple Mount in prayer.
According to a readout from the President’s Residence, Herzog in his meeting with Lew also touched on Sunday morning’s deadly terrorist shooting at the Allenby border crossing to Jordan, saying that “the peace agreements between Israel and its neighbors are a cornerstone of stability in the region, and we trust all parties will thoroughly investigate the incident and work to prevent future attacks.”
The Israeli head of state added, “This horrific act reinforces our resolve to stand firm in the face of terror, and we will continue to fight with determination against terrorism and extremist elements which seek to undermine our security, and the stability of the whole region.”
Herzog “expressed his concern for the stability in the region, with Iranian-backed terror continuing to threaten Israel on many fronts—especially over the upcoming period of Jewish religious festivals, and the year anniversary of the Hamas massacre of October 7,” per the readout.
Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994 but the kingdom has a majority Palestinian population and its government has taken an increasingly hostile tone since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip.
Under a status quo arrangement reached with Jordan in the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War, Jews may visit the Temple Mount but not pray there.
Israel’s haredi-dominated Chief Rabbinate opposes visits to the Mount due to the concern that Jews may inadvertently set foot in an area that, according to Jewish law, is forbidden to enter unless one is ritually pure.
On the other hand, prominent Zionist rabbis have permitted—and even encouraged—Jews to visit the site, arguing that measurements taken after 1967 have determined the boundaries of the area Jews may enter. According to a 2022 poll, more than half of Israeli Jews who identify as either National Religious or traditional religious support prayer on the Mount.
Ben-Gvir said in an interview with Army Radio on Aug. 26 that Jewish prayer is allowed on the Mount. That prompted a denial from the Prime Minister’s Office, which stated that policy at the holy site is determined by the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During the interview with Army Radio, Ben-Gvir was asked repeatedly if he would build a synagogue on the Temple Mount. He replied, “yes.”
Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, told reporters the following day that the proposed Jewish house of worship “on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount” would “demonstrate blatant disregard for the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem.”